SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Koreans have expressed their pride and sorrow after seeing their national football team beat the # Germany: The biggest upheaval of this year's World Cup, but which has not yet managed to qualify for the next round.

The dense apartment complexes that make up the capital Seoul were shaken Thursday after midnight. Germany defeated Germany 2-0 in the last match of the two teams in Russia

Many Seoul residents, including thousands of fans who gathered in front of the giant screens in the city center from Gwanghwamun, remained late. they would not qualify for the knockout stages.

South Korea had to beat Germany and then Mexico beat Sweden to have a chance to advance from the group stage. But Sweden lost all hope with three unanswered goals that sealed the game halfway through the second Group F final.

After momentarily celebrating their victory, South Korean players fell, many of them coming back. 39, between them shedding tears.

But for many fans, beating Germany was as good as a moral victory could be.

"Honestly, I had no expectations, but the players did well to overcome the crises after the seizures. seal the win, "said Lee Shin-young, a 39-year-old office worker in Yongin, near Seoul, who looked at the house. "It has not been good after two consecutive losses, but I think we have restored some of the pride of Asian football by finishing with a win."

Kim Hyun-tae, who coached South Korea for the 2002 and 2010 World Cups, the only time the country reached the round of 16, said the victory over Germany was crucial as it restores confidence in the future of South Korean football.

South Korea has a relatively young core in their early and mid-20s. They can now build the counterattack identity that they established during Germany's match, said Kim. In goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo, whom Kim described as "formidable", South Korea may have also found a world-clbad player able to keep them in any game.

"C & That's how South Korea should have a solid defense first and an attack with pace and goal on the meters, "said Kim, now recruiting director for the South Korean club FC Seoul. "It is so frustrating and breathtaking that we did not play like that against Sweden and Mexico, we needed a miracle to get into Germany and we almost did it."

The next big tournament for South Korea will be the Asian Games in August, where several young players will compete for a gold medal that would provide them with mandatory military services for South Korean men.

After the disappointing elimination of South Korea in the World Cup group stage four years ago, angry fans waited at the airport to get players in with sweets on their return. The victory against Germany almost ensures that the reception will be hotter this time around.

"Moving towards the best of 16 has been a long-term shot, but beating Germany is still something special," said Choi Ji- Hye, a 40-year-old office worker in Seoul. "The players had been heavily criticized and it would have been painful to live it all, so it was heartbreaking to see them crying and kissing after the game."

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Follow Kim Tong-hyung on Twitter @KimTongHyung

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